page_title: Malaysian Chinese
section_title: Divided nationalism and turbulent era (1900–1945)
hierarchical_section_title: Malaysian Chinese / History / Divided nationalism and turbulent era (1900–1945)
caption_attribution_description: English: THREE PRETTY CHINESE GIRLS OF THE CANTEEN STAFF DRYING DISHES, MALAYA.
context_page_description: Malaysian Chinese people or Chinese Malaysians is a local ethnic group in Malaysia. The group is defined as Malaysian citizens of Chinese ethnicity. Today, they form the second largest ethnic group after the Malay majority. Most are descendants of Southern Chinese immigrants who arrived in Malaysia between the early 19th century and the mid-20th century.
  The sub-ethnic groups of Malaysian Chinese includes Hokkien, Cantonese, Hakka, Teochew, Hainan, Foochow and Kwongsai. Malaysian Chinese also form the second largest community of Overseas Chinese in the world, after Thai Chinese. Within Malaysia, they represent the third largest group, constituting 23% of the Malaysian population.
  Malaysian Chinese are traditionally dominant in the business sector of the Malaysian economy. Different towns and cities in Malaysia are placed by different Chinese dialects among Chinese speakers; for example Cantonese in Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh and Sandakan, Hokkien in George Town, Klang and Kuching, Hakka in Kota Kinabalu, Teochew in Johor Bahru, Foochow in Sibu, Miri and Sitiawan, and Hainanese in Kuala Terengganu.
context_section_description: By the 1900s, civil wars and conflicts between the indigenous ethnics began to cease when the British established firm control over both Malaya and northern Borneo despite none of the Malay kingdoms was actually colonised with all the related entities came under political and economic stability as well economic prosperity under the British capital and economic geared up by the Chinese and Indian workforce through the national exploitation of tin and rubber. Prior to the 1911 Chinese Revolution that successfully overthrow the Qing dynasty in China, the leader of the Tongmenghui revolt named Sun Yat-sen raise overseas funding and organisational support from overseas Chinese communities mainly from French Indochina, Dutch East Indies, Philippines, Siam, British Singapore, British Malaya and British Borneo with the establishment of Nanyang revolutionary organisation activities in Saigon, Hanoi, Pontianak, Manila, Bangkok, Singapore and George Town. Through the way to transform the current administration of China, a competition raise between three groups who champion the political reformation with each of the group targeted overseas Chinese especially in Malaya and Singapore for their source of support and funds. The first group consists of the pro-Qing elite, who mainly targets wealthy Chinese for funds and expertise to modernise China, while the other two are reformists and revolutionaries who intends to advocated constitutional reforms, introduction of parliamentary system and complete overthrow of Qing and Manchu political influence for a modern Chinese nation.
  Following the success of reformists and revolutionaries after the revolution with the establishment of a new Chinese government under the Republic of China, many branches of the Tongmenghui succeeding party of Kuomintang emerged in British Malaya with majority support were first shown by Straits-born Chinese than the China-born. In British Borneo, Kuomintang activities came under the Democratic Party of North Borneo, a body formed by Chinese-educated towkays despite it is not known whether China assisted the activities. The patriotism among Chinese immigrant communities was then entirely focused on China. The British colonial authorities initially do not have problem for any Chinese residing in the two territories becoming Kuomintang members but with the anti-imperialists policy within the organisation, this resulted the British and the new China government unable to maintain a close relationship. By 1925, when a communist movement emerged among the overseas Chinese with the establishment of South Seas Communist Party in colonial Singapore and its subsequent banning, this further leading to the establishment of Indochinese Communist Party, Communist Party of Malaya, Communist Party of Burma and the Communist Party of Siam with the communist movement also maintaining relations with an earlier Southeast Asia Communist Party of Indonesia. Prior to the World War II, the Communist Party of Malaya followed the general communists line of opposing Western democracies by intensifying its propaganda against the Malayan government as well the colonial government of Singapore in 1940.
  With the beginning of Sino-Japanese conflict and subsequent Japanese occupations of Malaya and British Borneo, further activities by young Kuomintang enthusiasts were shortly stopped. When the Communist Party of China under Mao Zedong reached an agreement with the Kuomintang government under Chiang Kai-shek to put aside their conflict and rally together against Japanese aggression in July 1940, a growth of anti-British led to the banning of Kuomintang and other Chinese organisations in Malaya. Nevertheless, with the ensuing conflict with Japan that also involving the British, Chiang Kai-shek urge every Kuomintang members to fight alongside the latter with the British colonial authorities in return announced the lifting of ban towards any Chinese associations including both the Kuomintang and Chinese communist movement as a sign to appreciating the value of co-operation. The leaving of ban and sub
caption: Three ethnic Chinese girls working in the interior of British military mobile canteen throughout the war against the Japanese in Malaya, c. January 1942.
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